Chapter 22: Interrogation After Victory

“Nothing strange happened,” said Sumei.

Mr. Adam nodded and delicately placed a thin band around Jacob’s wrist before he woke up. It vanished from sight upon touching his skin.

“Jacob!”

“Huh?”

Jacob opened his eyes and noticed the jeep was in front of a concrete gray building. People in military uniforms patrolled this place. Many soldiers were in the jeep’s vicinity and stared at Jacob.

“Sir! I thought I would never see you again!”

Jacob didn’t think too much and confessed. He wore a smile as he came out and shook Mr. Jacob’s hands.

“Let’s talk in,” said Mr. Adam, and Jacob nodded.

They walked across the reception into a conference room on the ground floor. Along the way, a few more people joined the group and remained silent.

‘What… what is going on?’

Jacob began feeling odd from the sneaky gazes they gave him.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

He began thinking of everything he had done since his transmigration.

‘I went to school. I got my system in the supervised training. I recovered from mana poisoning. I defeated a boss undefeatable by E-Rank hunters. I am not officially awakened, yet I am stronger than most E-Rank hunters…’

Jacob felt speechless. The recent feats he had accomplished seemed almost inhuman. It was due to his system’s help and his unwillingness to give into his original fate!

‘But how should I explain my changes to others? Tell them I have a system that rewards me when I murder monsters?’

As Jacob was lost in his thoughts, the conference room began to fill up. He was invited to sit on one narrow side of the table while Mr. Adam sat opposite to him at the other extreme end. It was like a family lunch where the husband and wife sat at the opposite ends of a long dining table with their kids on the other seats.

But here the kids were replaced with fierce bulky soldiers. Many commanders sat here. Some had thick beards while others had thick Mexican mustaches. The only source of comfort for Jacob was that his teammates were sitting beside him.

“Ahem.” Mr. Adam coughed. “I am sure you are wondering what you are doing here.”

Jacob knew his teacher was talking to him. He nodded with an innocent face while his mind brainstormed ways to ‘logically’ explain his drastic changes.

“Well, I was wondering that as well,” he added. Jacob was wondering if this was all a bad joke. But Mr. Adam said, “But some news I had heard caused the need for this conference. Jacob… tell me… are you really Jacob?”

“Huh?” Jacob’s eyes widened. The increased tension in the soldiers muscles went unnoticed by him while small swirls of mana gathered around the mages.

“Sir, what do you mean?” Jacob asked. He was getting annoyed at this point, and the others noticed the shift in his tone.

Mr. Adam stood up and looked behind him at a screen. It was switched off at the moment, but he remembered what he had seen on it recently.

“My question was simple. Are you Jacob or not?”

Jacob’s heart involuntarily beat faster. Small beads of sweat formed on his back, and he tried to restrain his reflexes. Even though he had overcome a hidden boss recently, the pressure Mr. Adam gave off made that boss seem like a child.

Each soldier present here felt like a monster, while the few commanders sitting next to Mr. Adam felt like hidden bosses. But he knew he could not defeat them yet. It felt as though he was a lonely boat facing the might of a raging sea.

“O-of course I am Jacob. Who else can I be?” Jacob replied confidently.

He was sure that transmigration and his system would be beyond the level of most people. If the world he had come to could recognize his situation for what it was, Jacob felt they would have no problem eradicating all dungeons. They would not even lose control of a major part of Planet Blue while fighting the demons.

“A doppelganger?”

“A dop… what?” Jacob tilted head in confusion. Then his years of gaming experience brought about enlightenment. “You mean those monsters in games that can mimic other creatures and transform into their appearance?”

Mr. Adam’s face twitched. Even the other soldiers felt odd while the commanders nearly lost it. Never in their lives they had heard someone introduce the main cause of humanity’s many defeats in such a way. To think someone would refer to it as a common monster from a game! What gall!

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But it also reduced the tension in the air. Jacob could feel it. He was no longer the small boat struggling to not topple over amidst the raging waves. But his confusion didn’t end there.

‘Who the heck made these people think I am a doppelgänger?’ Jacob furiously thought. After remembering the monster’s description from his previous life’s games, he remembered their status in this world. If any doppelgänger was sighted in any city, the entire force of humanity would work together to take it down!

He was a single wrong step away from death!

“Yes, I mean that. But these are not really monsters from games. These demons exist in real life, even nowadays.”

“What does that have anything to do with me?”

“Well, it could have everything to do with you. Everything would make sense if you were not the real Jacob. How else can you explain your changes?”

Jacob nodded. He was still upset at being bullied by the aura they gave off. But he tried to rationalize it for now, since he was weaker than them. Currently, his focus was on getting rid of the blame of being humanity’s worst enemy. He wanted to take this chance to legally become known as an ‘awakened’.

‘After all, my superpower is my system. How can I not be considered an awakened hunter?’

He was also grateful for Mr. Adam’s trust. Without it, this conversation would not be held in a conference room. It would normally be held in a dark prison where he would first be physically abused, kept locked in chains, and be interrogated like a criminal.

“You have a point, sir. And I also had my suspicions about many things.”

The unrelated parties here were confused at his words. But he went on.

“You already know that I had mana poisoning.”

Mr. Adam nodded. Jacob thought for a few seconds and finalized what he was about to say.

“Something changed when that monster pierced my chest and broke my ruby necklace. It was as if whatever was sucking the mana in my body had enough and simply expelled the remaining mana away. Anyway, that was the feeling. Then I woke up to a normal body and found out that I became much stronger. I also seem to be able to quickly get stronger while hunting monsters inside the dungeon.”

He kept his words concise. It was because unnecessary fluff would increase the chances of slipping up.

The commanders and Mr. Adam looked at each other while the soldiers remained ready. After a moment, Mr. Adam said, “Leave us for a while.”

Jacob nodded and stood up. He left the room while wondering if his explanation was good enough. Then he realized he had just met people with great authority in Trathe city. These people even held high military posts and were strong hunters. It was always his old self’s dream to meet such people.

‘I wonder how the old Jacob will feel meeting them after being accused of being a demon.’

Jacob shook his head. The old Jacob had died an unjust death, and the debt had still not been repaid. He started thinking of how to take care of Kevin after this matter settled. It didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about the outcome of the decision of the people inside. It was simply that he held no more power to influence them.

“Jacob. I hope you’re okay.”

He looked behind and saw his teammates exit the room. Their worried faces comforted his worried heart. But he did not know these teammates he had risked his life fighting for caused his current circumstances. Of course, this was also a chance for him to convert this potential disaster into a boon for himself.

“I am,” he smiled. “I wonder what they’re thinking inside.”

He knew they had been inside for some time and might have heart about their opinion about him.

Sumei calmed down her nerves. She smoothly answered, “They don’t think there’s any problem yet.”

“Come inside.”

A soldier stood at the opened door, and the team returned to their previous seats. Mr. Adam remained standing while looking at Jacob with his usual stoic face.

“We don’t think there’s any problem with your story. But there’s one minor issue.”

Jacob was confused.

“What was it, sir?”

“Your red ruby doesn’t exist!”

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